The Wedding Deal (18 page)

“I told you that she was the wrong granddaughter. Marcie would still make a better mother, would certainly be able to produce a child” he had bit out as Alexis had moved closer to him, towering angrily over the older man.

“Get the hell out of here John, and don’t EVER come back” he had growled, making the other man snarl back.

“I warned you about her Alexis…….you knew she only married you to save another man”

Gasping Tessa had looked over at Alexis, seeing as he had looked quickly back at her.

“Out” he had said so softly, his tone clearly implying a threat not lost on John, who had given her one more contemptuous look before leaving the room.

Finally alone husband and wife had looked at each other warily, before rubbing his hand across his unshaven chin Alexis had moved to sit on the chair beside her, his voice now gentle.

“How are you feeling?” his eyes not meeting hers, as she had looked at him, a myriad of emotions running across her face.

“You knew” she had whispered softly, her voice cracking slightly with emotion.

Seeing as he had nodded.

“You never said”

With a small sigh he had finally looked at her, his expression one of both anger and pain.

“Say what Tessa, that I knew that my wife had only married me to save the man she loved from going to jail……a married man. That she had sold herself for a million dollars”

Shaking her head she had moaned softly.

“No Alexis, you have it all wrong” she had groaned with pain, reaching out her hand to him.

Seeing the coldness entering his eyes as he had moved away from her reach.

“This is not the time for this conversation Tessa” he had said standing.

“Please, we have enough to deal with right now”

Tessa had shaken her head, suddenly needing to tell him everything, shocked that he had known about Andrew the whole time.

“Alexis…….we need to…….” she had implored as he had shaken his head.

“No……no we don’t… and certainly not now” he had stated,

With a determined motion, he had pulled his jacket from the chair, pulling it back on with quick angry movements, not looking at Tessa, who lay on the bed, so small and vulnerable he had thought to himself. After a few seconds of silence between them as she had watched his back as he faced away from her, he seemed to once more gain control of his emotions, as he had turned to look down on his wife. His expression now more gentle.

“It doesn’t matter Tessa” he had said softly “Right now all that matters is that you feel better”

Tessa had dropped her head, the tears once more rising to her eyes.

“I have arranged for you to be brought home, you will be more comfortable there” he had said gently as she had looked up, giving a small nod of thanks, not wanting to be in the sterile hospital, wanting to be in familiar surroundings

“Thank you” she had managed, seeing as he had looked back at her, the pain still so evident in his eyes

“I have to go” he had said gently, moving forward to drop a kiss on her head. Tessa had wanted to throw her arms around him, to tell him how much she loved him and to feel him holding her in his arms as he had done the night before. Her heart had broken further as he had stood, and turning abruptly had moved out of the room, leaving her once more alone.

True to his word she had been collected from the hospital by Mrs Lowe, who had fussed over her on their return. She had insisted that the younger woman go straight to bed to rest, providing her with a cup of tea which Tessa had sipped with relish. Finally, she had begged for some time on her own as Mrs Lowe had hovered around her, seeing as the woman had smiled gently before reaching over and softly patting her hand suddenly so serious.

“Don’t worry Tessa…..you are young. In years to come this will be a bad memory as you watch your children run around you”

Tessa had smiled back, nodding softly, seeing the kindness and sincerity from the older woman.

“Thank you Mrs Lowe…..for everything” she had responded hugging the woman who had finally left her alone and lying down she had almost instantly fallen into a deep sleep.

Several hours later Tessa had woken, seeing the hazy half light filling the room as the sun had slowly sunk down, filling the area with red and orange shadows. Pushing the covers from her she had moved to the shower, taking her time to let the water soak over her body, once more missing the child that only the day before had been such a beacon of hope in her life. As the tears had again slid down her cheek, she had taken time to let some tranquility fill her once more.

Moving downstairs Mrs Lowe had appeared as she was just moving from the last step

“Tessa………go back to bed…… you need rest” the older woman had said, her tone maternal and concerned.

With a small smile on her face Tessa had shaken her head.

“No …. please…I can’t stay in that bed any longer………all I do is think… about……..” her voice had cracked gently, as the woman had looked sadly at her.

“I’m sorry my dear………..come and get something to eat”

The last thing Tessa felt like doing was eating, still feeling sick from all that had gone on, but the thought of a cup of tea making her smile gently.

“I would love a drink” she had replied, trying to smile at the woman before her, not aware of how haunted her eyes looked. As they were seated at the kitchen table, both sipping softly at their hot beverages, Tessa had frowned.

“Where is Alexis?” she had asked, seeing how Mrs Lowe had avoided her eyes, her voice taking on an unnatural brightness.

“Oh……..he had to go into the office; some problem came up……..so he and Clara had to go deal with it”

The mention of Clara Laing’s name had crashed down hard in the pit of her stomach, as she realised that he had found comfort in the loss of their child in the arms of his mistress. She had felt the tears rising once more, clutching the cup harder against her hand, the pain of the hot liquid through the cup stopping the tears from flowing.

Mrs Lowe however, had seen the wetness, misconstruing it as her once more thinking about the baby.

“Oh Tessa, I wish I could say anything that would make this easier” she had said softly, placing her hand over the younger woman’s. Giving a small smile Tessa had nodded gently.

“I know”

At that moment the phone had rung, and a few moments later Mrs Lowe had returned with it, smiling.

“It’s Alexis for you” she had said handing the phone over and disappearing to leave her alone to talk to her husband.

His voice had sounded weary as he had asked how she was feeling. Tessa had replied vaguely that she was fine, her whole being wanting to scream to him that she felt broken, felt that her heart had been torn from her chest and that he was the main reason, but she had remained silent, giving curt short replies to his stilted questions. Finally he had cleared his throat,

“There is a problem in France, I have to go…I’m not sure how long I will be away” she had heard the uncertainty in his voice, an almost reluctance.

“Oh” She had said “Just you?” hearing him hesitate.

“No, Clara is coming too……..she has been involved in most of the negotiations so far”

Tessa could feel the tears silently flowing down her face.

“OK……..I understand” she had managed, her voice almost emotionless.

“Tessa……..” she could hear a strange tone to his voice, as she had forced a smile on her face, forcing her voice to sound more upbeat than she felt.

“It’s OK……….I understand, you have business to deal with……..really go”

In the background she could hear a voice, a woman’s voice recognising it instantly as that of Clara, the white searing pain of jealousy stabbing through her.

“I have to go” he had said, his attention already elsewhere she knew, as she had said goodbye to him.

Holding the phone in her hand, her eyes had looked sightlessly at it. She could see him in the arms of the stunning French woman, his mistress. See him kissing her in the way he had kissed her, their bodies joined together, as they made love. She had been a fool, a stupid fool. Tessa felt destroyed. Her whole life had been full of pain and loss, but she had never known such misery as she did right at that moment. She felt the loss of her child and that of the man she loved, the cold hurt seeping deep into every pore, the tears drying as she hardened her heart to all the hurt and pain crashing down on her.

For the next two weeks, life had slowly returned to normal. Each day she would receive a phone call from Alexis, as he repeated that he was not sure how long he would be away, his voice apologetic as she imagined him making love to Clara. Each day the two had swapped polite conversation for a few moments, the silences filled with tension that neither seemed prepared to break.

While physically Tessa had mended, emotionally she was still in tatters and had thrown herself into her work, spending each day at the new studio overseeing each day’s progress. Things were moving along at break-neck speed, and Tessa was sure that the studio would be ready to open by the beginning of the new session, not able to feel any excitement about that thought, her spirit so cold. She seemed to move in an almost dream like state, and each day Mrs Lowe had looked at her with concern, tutting at how little she ate.

“You eat less than a sparrow” she had chided “You will end up making yourself sick”

However, Tessa had only dropped a small kiss on the woman’s cheek.

“Thank you for caring” she had added with a small sad smile.

Towards the end of Alexis having been away for two weeks, Tessa had looked around the kitchen, half-heartedly wondering what to make for dinner, before giving up, the thought of food unappealing. It was Mrs Lowe’s day off, and as usual she had gone to visit her sister, and the house seemed quiet and empty, just as she felt. As the phone had rang, she had picked it up wearily, feeling her spirits rise on hearing Andrew’s voice.

“Hey….” he had cried his voice happy “How is married life treating you?”

Tessa realised that he had known nothing of her pregnancy or of the loss of the child and she had tried to sound as breezy as she could.

“Great…. you sound happy” she had added.

“Oh Tessa, I have some wonderful news” he had blurted out.

“They caught him”

Tessa had frowned slightly in confusion, before realisation had come across her.

“They caught him?” she had repeated blankly.

Andrew had laughed happily.

“Yes……..they caught him, recovered most of the money, and the tax people have been in touch. My name is clear and they are going to throw the book at the guy”

For the first time in many weeks Tessa had laughed.

“Oh Andrew, I am so happy………….you have no idea how happy” she had breathed gently, a feeling of hope suddenly filling her, hearing the relief in his voice.

“Tessa, I don’t know how to thank you……..for stopping me” he had continued, the emotions so strong in his voice as she had laughed softly.

“Andrew, I am only glad I was there that day, and that I could help” she had said gently.

“You have always been there for me…………I’m glad I could be there for you”

As her friend had rung off, she had sat heavily down on the chair. Her mind in a turmoil as so many emotions churned painfully within her. She had married Alexis to save Andrew, had been effectively blackmailed into the deal by her grandfather who was more interested in mineral rights than people. However, now things had changed. There was now no threat to Andrew, and she had a way out of the lifestyle that Alexis expected her to lead. Tessa realised that she could no longer stand back and watch as he continued with his affairs. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to be with somebody who loved her. Her heart breaking that it would not be with the man she loved, the man her heart cried out for. The man who right now was in the arms of another woman.

After a few moments she had moved back upstairs, retrieving the suitcase she had brought with her the first week she had moved into his home, the home she had come to love. Quickly she had packed her clothes into the bag, leaving the many cocktail dresses she had acquired since her short marriage on the hangers in the closet. This was not her world, not the world of a dance instructor. Sadly she had touched each, the memories of being held in Alexis’s arms filling her mind, her imagination punishing her with the memories of how his hands had felt on her back, his body holding her tight to him and his aftershave enveloping her. With a quick movement she had closed the door, wishing it was that easy to push him from her mind. When finished she had sat next to the phone waiting for his call.

For many hours she had sat, her whole body tense, waiting. When the phone had finally rang she had answered for the first time in many weeks having more than just pleasantries to swap with him. His voice had once more been polite, asking her how she was feeling; only this time she had not given him her banal “fine” response.

“I feel hurt” she had said softly, instinctively feeling the surprise on the other end.

“I can’t keep doing this Alexis” she had continued. Hearing his voice suddenly sharper,

“What does that mean?” he had asked quickly.

“It means I’m leaving you” she had replied, hearing the intake of breath from him.

“I’m packed …….and am leaving after this call” she had finished.

“No…” he had cried, his voice clipped.

“We had an agreement………..you are my wife” he cried, an anger and something else in his voice.

Closing her eyes in pain she had bit her lip.

“I will contact a lawyer about the divorce……….there are no children to make this difficult” she had felt her voice falter, the hurt of this hitting her once more.

“No Tessa. Stay there. We need to talk” she heard him cry down the line, as she had shaken her head.

“We have nothing to talk about Alexis……you made that perfectly clear in the hospital……….but don’t worry I will abide by our agreement……….there will be no financial demands from me”

On the other end of the line she could hear his voice grow quieter.

“Tessa please………..” as she had dashed away a tear slowly winding down her cheek.